Car sales rose 6.1% in July due to new launches and better supply

By means of Justine Irish D. Table, News reporter

According to an industry report, VEHICLE SALES in the Philippines rose 6.1% annually in July, driven by new launches and inventory availability.

A joint report by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) show that car sales in July increased to 39,331 units from 37,086 units in the same month last year.

Month on month, car sales increased by 0.6% compared to the 39,088 units sold in June.

“New product launches, improved product offerings, good sales momentum and supply availability helped neutralize the impact of Typhoon Carina, especially toward the end of July,” CAMPI President Rommel R. Gutierrez said in a statement.

In July, passenger car sales rose 14.9% to 10,923 units, compared to 9,509 units sold a year ago. Month on month, passenger car sales increased by 2.78%.

Commercial vehicle sales, which represented 72.23% of total industry sales, rose 3% year on year to 28,408 units. Month on month, commercial vehicle sales fell by 0.2%.

Broken down, light commercial vehicle sales fell 3.6% year-on-year to 20,849 units, while Asian commercial vehicle (AUV) sales rose 32.7% to 6,620 units.

Medium truck sales fell 23.9% to 299, while heavy truck sales fell 35.6% to 65. Light truck and bus sales rose 23.4% to 575 units.

For the FIn the first seven months of the year, car sales rose 10.9% to 265,610 units, compared to 239,501 units a year ago.

Passenger car sales rose 17.3% to 70,798 units, while commercial vehicle sales rose 8.7% to 194,812 units.

Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the latest auto sales data is “decent.”

“Although car sales growth from January to July is still higher than GDP (gross domestic product) growth, car sales growth is starting to normalize after double-digit growth rates in recent months and as a result of a higher level. ”, said Mr Ricafort Business via Viber.

In the first half, GDP growth averaged 6%, still on track to meet the government’s full-year target of 6-7%.

Mr Ricafort said the steady car sales reflect the country’s favorable demographics as the majority of the population is of working age.

“Local auto sales and double-digit manufacturing growth rates in recent months continue to be leading indicators for the continued growth and recovery of the Philippine economy,” he said.

Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. remained the market leader with sales of 122,730 units in the January to July period, up 11.47% from 110,158 units a year ago. Toyota sales accounted for 46.21% of the market.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. ranked second with a market share of 19.05%. Mitsubishi’s sales rose 15.4% to 50,599 units in the first seven months, compared to 43,831 units last year.

In third place was Ford Motor Co. Phils. Inc. with a market share of 6.33%. Ford sales rose 1.2% to 16,817 units.

The top five was completed by Nissan Philippines, Inc., whose sales rose 0.9% to 15,819 units, while Suzuki Phils., Inc. posted a 13% sales increase to 11,499 units.

This year, CAMPI set a sales target of 468,300 units, an increase of 9% from the 429,807 units sold in 2023.

The 265,610 units sold in the January-July period already accounted for 56.7% of the industry’s target for this year.